This game lacks some of the key features and qualities that a satisfactory RPG would normally possess, but there is potential for this to become a game with solid core components with some minor upgrades and tweaking. For the time being, however, "*%^#@" needs some major improvements, in terms of quality, and in terms of the length of gameplay; with all due respect to the creator, ten minutes (of dragged out gameplay) is not enough, even for a demo version.

Graphics

The graphics of this game are as a whole crude, and in some cases incomplete or erroneous. For example, the walkabout graphics for the humanoid enemy seem to have inadvertantly misused the transparent colour as a substitute for black; moreover, certain enemies appear to be no more than black squares in battle, most likely incomplete or "erased-using-black" battle graphics.

The maptiles are no better, and are often difficult to "decode" — there is a collection of red maptiles near the northwestern side of the map, and I am unable to determine whether they are some sort of lavapit (they aren't harmtiles, so I assume not), or a red carpet, which really wouldn't make sense in context. Special effects in battles are almost non-existant, other than the "death" attack.

Storyline

You are a character named "death" (incidentally, with an attack called "death"); the end. There is no story to this game, and very little significant dialogue, other than a few unintelligible or sexually inappropriate textboxes. I would strongly recommend that the creator of this game implement some sort of basic storyline as soon as possible; no game is complete without one.

Gameplay

The gameplay in "*%^#@" is unfathomably dull, as there is no essential purpose to the game itself, other than to level up the character (which in itself is really no reward, considering that even by level ten, one would have learned no special abilities). The map is confusing, and the battles unbalanced.

Battle

Battles are too easy, and there are no special abilities to learn or gain. Enemies' attacks never do more than 1 HP of damage, and they can be destroyed with one, or sometimes two, regular attacks. It should be noted that all enemies seem to share the same attack, except for "they", which uses "death" (not the character, but the attack) as well — there is very little attack variety thus far.

Map Design

The layout of the map is confusing and simply incomplete. There is a door near the northwestern portion of the map that has been linked to itself, and when you stray from this northwestern portion, one will be lost in a large (and empty) grassy meadow, void of any unique obstacles or characters.

Balance

The battles in "*%^#@" are extremely unbalanced; for example, the main character, "death", starts with 12 HP, and there is no method by which to heal your character. Unless the first battle you choose is with one of the humanoid enemies, apparently named "dude", then it is very improbable that you will have the remaining health requried to gain enough experience points to level up. The experience given by available battles, all of a similar difficulty, range from 9 Exp. to over 200 Exp., allowing the user to level up the character sometimes two levels at a time for battles that are simply too easy.

Music

This game's soundtrack is comprised entirely of two songs; firstly, there is the main theme that plays through the title screen, the world map, and a majority of the battles that one encounters; and secondly, a piece from the free compilation that comes with the OHRRPGCE. I respect the use of these free pieces far more than I do the use of ripped music, and I am quite certain that the main theme is exactly that — ripped; at least the creator's choices are appropriate for the setting.

Enjoyment

This game does not yet have enough content for me to consider "enjoyable". The battles are not fun, and there is no entertainment value in traversing the confusing, devoid and incomplete world map. I would have probably enjoyed the game more if there would have been some incentive to training the character, since there was no real reward or special abilities, nor any plot progression.

Final Blows

This game needs definite improvement in order to be considered "satisfactory". The core elements of the game must be upgraded: Battles must be tweaked in order to be more balanced; problems with the graphics should be remedied; and some sort of storyline, even if just a plotscript-controlled opening textbox, should be implemented — this could aid in "hooking" the user.

Battles lack special effects and originality

Final Scores

Graphics: 2.5/10.0

Crude, but serves the purpose.

Storyline: 1/10.0

No story to be graded.

Gameplay: 2.5/10.0

Not enough gameplay to constitute a "game".

Music: 1/10.0

Ripped music results in a non-score.

Enjoyment: 2.5/10.0

I did not enjoy this game.

Overall Grade:
F

Final Thoughts

Although there is potential for improvement, I cannot currently recommend this game as a must-download to the gaming community. In fact, I would encourage the game's creator to make major improvements to "*%^#@" before expecting any major increase in the number of downloads to date.